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New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the chamber’s No. 3 Democrat, said he was “disappointed” by the pact and argued that Iran won more from the deal’s looser economic penalties than the international community gained by slowing down the country’s nuclear program.

“This disproportionality of this agreement makes it more likely that Democrats and Republicans will join together and pass additional sanctions when we return in December. I intend to discuss that possibility with my colleagues,” Schumer said.

Senators from both parties spent the past few weeks pushing for tougher sanctions against Iran even as they were personally lobbied by Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry to hold off for diplomatic talks to run their course.

The instant backlash — especially from fellow Democrats — suggests that Kerry will have a lot of work to do to convince lawmakers to wait on new sanctions and allow the deal to proceed.

Kerry, who helped broker the deal, is expressing confidence in how it will be received on Capitol Hill. Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” he predicted that “Congress will recognize that this deal actually has a great deal of benefit in it.”

On Sunday, Senate leaders gave a sense of how they might move forward. Legislation that the upper chamber would likely consider would include a six-month “window” that would allow the United States and Iran to finalize a deal, said Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). But it would also include a trigger that could slap Iran with immediate penalties if further diplomacy fails, he added.

“I do not believe we should further reduce our sanctions, nor abstain from preparations to impose new sanctions on Iran should the talks fail,” Menendez said. “I expect that the forthcoming sanctions legislation to be considered by the Senate will provide for a six-month window to reach a final agreement before imposing new sanctions on Iran, but will at the same time be immediately available should the talks falter or Iran fail to implement or breach the interim agreement.”

Menendez criticized the agreement for disproportionately aiding Iran and called for vigorous enforcement of existing sanctions and “ongoing” verification of the nuclear program’s scale-back, particularly given “Iran’s history of duplicity.” Schumer agreed the deal “does not seem proportional” but said he remained hopeful that the Obama administration could eventually seal an agreement to scrap all nuclear weapons capability in Iran.

Other influential Democrats took a more moderate stance.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) argued the deal is a test of Iran’s willingness to follow through on its international commitments and that a “partial roll-back of Iran’s nuclear energy activities is a bigger plus for us” than the financial relief that Iran is receiving. But even though he generally praised the Obama administration’s negotiating acumen, Levin made it clear he would support a new sanctions bill if the tentative agreement falters.

“If Iran does not consent to a comprehensive agreement that ensures it cannot acquire a nuclear weapon, there is a broad consensus in Congress to impose even tougher sanctions,” Levin said.

Sen. Bill Nelson said the Iran deal is better than the alternative.

“It is a choice between a pause or imminent war,” the Florida Democrat said. “I choose a verifiable pause.”

Before the breakthrough, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) indicated on Friday the Senate may pursue a bipartisan sanctions bill in December, when the chamber returns from a two-week Thanksgiving recess for a short work period. Obama successfully urged Reid and his colleagues to hold off last week on considering sanctions during the fragile diplomatic talks.

An Iran sanctions bill would likely be drafted in the Senate Banking Committee by Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), who has generally been deferential to Reid on whether such a bill is needed. On Sunday afternoon, a Johnson spokesman said the chairman was “encouraged” by Obama’s announcement but did not tip his hand on whether the panel would consider new sanctions.

”He wants to be fully briefed by Secretary Kerry on the details of the agreement and its implementation, and to consult with colleagues, before making decisions about any committee action on new Iran-related legislation,” said Johnson spokesman Sean Oblack.